This invention relates to elevator group supervisory control systems and more particularly to an elevator group supervisory control system suitable for realizing a variety of desires or requests of the users of the elevators.
In a conventional elevator group supervisory control system, with the view of improving running efficiency of elevator and services to passengers, occurrence of hall calls of supervised and a call is assigned to an optimum elevator in consideration of the whole service condition under the hall calls to thereby reduce average waiting time. Recently, a system has been proposed as disclosed in JP-A-58-52162 or GB 2,111,244 (corresponding to JP-A-58-63668) wherein in selecting from a plurality of elevators an elevator to which a hall call is assigned, an evaluation function for evaluating respective elevators is added with a variable parameter. The value of the variable parameter is changed in accordance with traffic. The obtained result is used to learn the parameter value which meets a preset target value. This parameter value is used in accordance with the running condition of an elevator to execute call assignment control.
In this system, either a minimum waiting time mode can be designated or the control target for energy saving can be set by a level command supplied from a switch or a building caretaker system. A stop call evaluation index is introduced by which stop calls destined for floors near a floor for which an originating (or new) call is destined are evaluated and the originating hall call is preferentially assigned to an elevator commanded by or having many of the stop calls. Advantageously, a weight coefficient for the stop call evaluation index can suitably be changed so as to be optimized for the waiting time and conversely the weight coefficient can be increased to attain energy saving effect.
On the other hand, JP-B-62-70 and JP-B-62-71 disclose a system which takes waiting time and energy saving into account. JP-B-58-56709 discloses a system which adds a predictive full-up to the evaluation index, and JP-B-62-47787 discloses a system which adds at least one of forecasting miss probability and full-up probability to the evaluation index.
Of the above convention systems, the system having two control targets of waiting time and energy saving can avoid dissatisfaction of passengers by reducing average waiting time but there are still involved several problems. More specifically, because of unexceptional occurrence of a longtime waiting at a specified floor within the same time zone, call assignment to a remote elevator even in the presence of a nearby elevator in wait, assignment of a call from a passenger carrying a large baggage such as a wagon to a crowded elevator and consequent necessity of a new call after start of the crowded elevator and the like cause, various complaints are made and informed to the owner or a caretaker of building.
Further, only the waiting time and energy saving or the waiting time and full-up probability (forecasting miss probability) are considered as control targets in spite of the fact that there are involved many other control targets, and it is difficult for the owner or caretaker of buliding to designate and control many control targets. In addition, the multi-target consisting of various combinations of the above control targets can not be controlled.
In order to take care of various complaints about an elevator system installed in a building, the user of elevator such as owner or caretaker of the building must ask the elevator maker to improvably alter the elevator system. In response the elevator maker must change the program or add new programs and then revise the ROM. This in effect requires much labor and time. All of a variety of requests of the user including passengers and the owner or caretaker of the building can not be satisfied. Further, it is difficult to present to the user the effects of the actual operation of elevator in accordance with the corrected program.
As will be seen from the above, in the elevator equipment to be used in buildings, constraint is imposed on the performance of elevator equipment such as the number of elevators installed, rated capacity and elevator speed, and inputting of request targets for control goal expected to be realized under the constraint can not be achieved without going through many trial and error processes and experience. Also, desires or requests of the user are difficult to express reasonably numerically. Essentially, in the conventional technology, inputting of user's request has not been thought of and the manner of reasonably settling the request is in no way considered, with the result that control capable of matching individuality of the installed elevator is difficult to achieve.
Conventionally, as far as inputting and setting of evaluation items are concerned, for example, JP-A-59-223672 simply discloses designation of energy saving rate in terms of numerical value (%) and JP-A-59-48364 merely discloses a method of inputting information about entertainment reservation and concentrated service into elevator group supervision.